Fight for the Future
by Starlit Anabelle
Summary: a Rurouni KenshinAnimorphs crossover. Kenshin has fought in a war before, but what happens when six kids show up along with new enemies: the Yeerks?
1. There Must be an Infestation!

Author's Note-Well, I've had this idea for a long time but finally just got to writing it. I don't own Animorphs or Rurouni Kenshin. By the way, if anybody could tell me how to use the thought-speech brackets, please tell me. It'd be a big help. This takes place about a week after the Kyoto Arc in Rurouni Kenshin by the way. So read, review, and enjoy.  
  
{. . .} is thought speech  
Marco  
  
I yawned and doodled on my incomprehensible math homework. I considered asking Ax for help, but decided against it. He would probably start commenting on the inferiority of humans. Erek stood in the corner, his hologram still on, and Cassie was giving a good a vaccine. I lounged on my usual bale of hay. Tobias was in the rafters. And Xena. . .  
  
{She's here.} Tobias announced. As if on cue, a bald eagle landed in the doorway. Demorphing is a bizarre process. By the time Rachel was in midmorph, she had bird toes, a humanoid yellow nose, white hair, and a feather pattern that looked like a body tattoo. Finally, she was fully human, with her long blond hair, blue eyes, and black leotard.  
  
Okay, now I can guess what you're wondering: Who's the freak narrating, what the hell is going on, and why do they keep showing reruns of Inuyasha? Well, I can answer the first two questions, but the answer to the third question is unknown to me.  
  
My name is Marco. Marco Marcathy. Marco Thompson. Marco Polo for all you know. Sadly, I can't give you my last name. Marco may not even be my name at all.  
  
Now you're probably thinking, 'Okay, this is not just a freak, but a very paranoid freak'. I wish it was just being paranoid, but see, I have a reason for my secrecy. A reason that's very real, and usually ends up with my friends and I running for our lives, beaten-up and bloody. Literally.  
  
No, I'm not from the FBI. If anything, you could say I was from the Men in Black. . .sort of. Ready for insanity? Alright. The Earth is being attacked by aliens.  
  
No, these aliens are not like the aliens in Alien 1/2/3. These aliens are much, much worse. They're scary. Very scary. Even scarier than Michael Jackson's face. They're called Yeerks. They'll crawl into your ear and wrap around your brain. Then they'll control you and you watch helplessly as your friends, family, and everyone close to you get enslaved.  
  
Long story short, we met a dying alien named Elfangor, were given the power to acquire an animal's DNA, turn into that animal, and now we're fighting the Yeerks. By 'we', I mean the cute, lovable me; our fearless leader and my best friend Jake; Rachel, Jake's cousin and warrior princess Xena; Cassie, Rachel's best friend and our tree-hugging nature loving maniac; Tobias, our official bird-boy; and Ax, our resident Andalite.  
  
Apparently Erek, a pacifist android that has a human hologram and is an ally of ours, had information about something important, because he told Jake, Jake told us, and now we're all sitting here for a big meeting to discuss the next level of suicidal insanity we can bring our lives up to. Is my life hectic? Oh yes. Very.  
  
"Alright, what's up?" Rachel asked, getting right down to business.  
  
"It seems Erek has news." Jake said, looking over at Erek. Erek nodded.  
  
"The Yeerks have acquired a new weapon and planning to put it to use tonight. It's very dangerous, and could possibly win the war. It's called the time matrix-"  
  
"The time matrix?!" Cassie yelped. We exchanged looks. We all remembered our last encounter with that thing. To summarize, we jumped here and there in history, I stole George Washington's spare pair of boots, Jake died, and we all went to hippie land. It was not a fun trip.  
  
"Yes." Erek said. Reading the looks on our faces and our reactions, he said, "I assume you know what it could do. The results could be-will be- disastrous if their plans follow through."  
  
"Never assume anything." I said. The others stared at me, waiting to hear the punch line to a very old joke that shouldn't even be in my quality humor memory banks. But I don't do those kind of jokes. I shook my head. "Never mind. Bad old joke buggin me."  
  
{Thank you for that interruption Marco.}Tobias said dryly.  
  
"Anytime." I said.  
  
{I do not understand. . .}Ax said. {What do you mean by saying that it is bad to assume?} His expression changed as Tobias told him. {Ah. Never mind. Humans have an odd sense of humor. . .}  
  
By the way, just to let you know, Ax an Andalite and the younger brother of Elfangor. Andalites look like blue centaurs, only blue and without mouths. Their shockingly green eyes are almond shaped, and they have slits for a nose. On top of their heads are two twistable stalks with eyes on top. Their weapon though is a wicked scorpion tail. Another thing to note about them is that they have absolutely /no/ sense of humor. Zip. Zero. And don't let anybody tell you different.  
  
"Anyways, back to serious matters. . ." Jake said.  
  
"Yeah. Geez. . ." Rachel said. "I knew something was up. It's been too quiet lately."  
  
"Rachel-Xena-" I said, exasperated, "quiet is good. We need a break. I mean, the marching band gets more breaks than we do, and they don't even have lives!"  
  
"Hey, I was in marching band. . .once. . .I take that as an insult!" Cassie said, sounding slightly offended.  
  
"Really? I've never seen you in marching band before. Never seen you play an instrument either." Jake said.  
  
"It wasn't at our school; it was at a camp. I played the flute." Cassie said.  
  
"Oooh, look, Cassie. Our pal Jake seems to be taking an interest in you." I teased. Jake threw a horse comb at me, which I dodged.  
  
{What is this 'flute'?} Ax asked curiously.  
  
Jake, our fearless and now slightly blushing leader, quickly decided to change the subject. He turned to Erek. "Where at and what time?" he asked. I sighed. It was gonna be another long night.  
  
Rachel  
  
It was ten o'clock at night and we were out at the Yeerk Pool. Well, more like at the entrance. To be even more specific, Cassie and I were in the girl's restroom at McDonalds. And we were about to go cockroach. I looked distastefully around the restroom. They really needed better management around here. One that's minus a Yeerk and with a better interest of keeping the bathrooms cleaner.  
  
We locked ourselves into separate stalls and shoved our t-shirts, shoes, and pants behind the toilet, hopefully where no one would see them. Barefoot and in leotards, we locked ourselves in the stalls and began to go cockroach.  
  
My skin turned brown and hardened as I began to shrink. Wings sprouted from my back as my hair sucked up in my skull like spaghetti and my face twisted and mutated. Gross. Cassie was probably having a better job at making her morphing a bit more graceful. Slightly.  
  
Legs sprouted out of my stomach. Lastly, two of my blond hairs that were left sticking out of my skull came alive, sticking up from my head to become antennae. Then the roach's instincts kicked in.  
  
Light! Light! Run! Hide! The instincts screamed. The roach wanted to run and hide in the shadows, but I had grown accustomed to the instincts of animal morphs and calmly ignored them.  
  
I scuttled out of from under the stall as a cockroach. {Cassie? You done morphing?} I asked. Roach vision sucks, so it wasn't very easy to tell.  
  
{Yeah. I'm pretty sure I'm by the door.} Cassie called over. I waved my antennae around and crawled over to her. I suddenly felt a wind over my head and the ground pounded and shook. I faintly heard two screams, because roach hearing sucks too.  
  
"Oh my god! There's roaches in here too!" one of the girls screamed.  
  
"Oh, gross! There must be come kind of infestation going in this place or something! Let's go somewhere ELSE to eat!" another shrieked.  
We crawled out of the bathroom and over to the four cockroaches huddled in the corner.  
  
{Everyone here?}Jake asked. A chorus of 'yes's' came from the group.  
  
{Physically, but not mentally.} Marco joked.  
  
{Or intelligently.} I added.  
  
  
  
Jake waited for us to finish our clowning around, then said, {Good. Let's go.}  
  
We started through the restaurant. {Creeepy Crawlers-} Marco sang.  
  
{Marco. Shut up.} I interrupted.  
  
We crawled between the small crack between the wall and the doorframe where the Gleet Biofitler couldn't reach us. Then we proceeded down the staircase and into the Yeerk Pool.  
  
Author's Note- Don't worry! Kenshin will show up in the next chapter. By the way, to all of those who have been reading Tangerine, it has been updated finally. So read, review, and I shall get the next chapter out soon. Ja ne! 


	2. Yes Ms Bitters

Author's Note-Three reviews already! *hands cookies to alphaskiier, SuperSailor Satern, and JCKIDSMART* Thank you guys sooo much! By the way, since this is partially being narrated by the Animorphs, you'll notice that a few details are a bit wrong. That's because they're not Japanese, but they will learn. So anyways, you wanted me to update, so here's the next chapter. Enjoy!  
  
~Ax~  
  
We demorphed in a lab. It was thankfully empty, but dark with pieces strewn around it. I walked around the lab, my eyes narrowing on the stolen technology. My eyes widened as I came across a half-built blue box, a disc, and the pieces scattered around it. {The Escafil device!} I cried.  
  
"Say what?" Prince Jake whispered.  
  
{They began to build the Escafil device! They must have stolen the technology from my people!} I repeated. Where did they get it? Did they steal this from an attacked dome ship?  
  
Prince Jake tossed me a backpack left on the floor. "Put the stuff in here and put the backpack on. Everyone else, battle morphs."  
  
{Yes, Prince Jake.} I began to dump the device, the pieces, and the disc, into the backpack as Prince Jake sighed. By the time I was done, I was surrounded by a hawk, a grizzly-bear, a tiger, a gorilla, and a wolf.  
  
{Got the stuff, Ax?}Prince Jake asked.  
  
{Yes, Prince Jake.} I replied. Prince Jake sighed again.  
  
{Great, great, let's do it!} Rachel said impatiently.  
  
I heard Marco sigh. {Now we're doomed. Wait. . .} He punched open the door. {Okay. Now we're doomed.}  
  
{Marco, you've been watching Invader Zim again, haven't you?} Rachel sighed.  
  
{Yes, Ms. Bitters, I have.}  
  
I blinked, confused. {I do not understand. What is this Invader Zim?} I asked.  
  
{An Irken.}  
  
{But Irkens are pacifists. Why would one try to invade Earth?}  
  
{Well, see, these are-}  
  
{Marco, don't even start explaining. You're making a scene. See? Everyone is staring at us.} Rachel sighed.  
  
True enough, everyone /was/ staring at us, frozen. There was a long, long silence. "Andalites!" someone screamed. Okay, maybe not too long.  
  
Hork-Bajir surged towards us. We all began fighting. Slash! A Hork- Bajir arm went flying. Slash! A head hit the floor and began rolling towards the pool. I whipped my tail around, this way and that, with lightening speed.  
  
{You are too late, Andalites! Far too late. . .} A booming voice announced. An evil laugh sounded in my head. Visser Three. {Already, I have a small army all set to go. Earth will be ours!}  
  
I turned a stalk eye over towards the large mass of humans and Hork- Bajir, all holding several large portable Yeerk pools.  
  
{Guys! They're holding hands! If we're touching them, we'll go with them! Latch onto a controller and hang on!} Prince Jake yelled.  
  
I galloped across the dirt and rock floor and latched onto a Hork- Bajir's arm. "Andalite!" he yelled in a guttural voice, and raised his other arm to bring it's blade upon my arm.  
  
Suddenly there was a flash of light as I could feel myself falling away and laughter rang out in my ears.  
  
~Cassie~  
  
I hit the grassy floor hard, me and the other Animorphs landing in a tangle of wings, legs, tails, and whatnot.  
  
{Jake, my eye! Move your tail!} Rachel yelled.  
  
{Rachel, you're on my hand. Get off it.} Marco ordered.  
  
{Cassie, your paw is on my wing.} Tobias informed me. I tried to move my paw. Easier said than done, with Ax's tail right next to my leg, but it was accomplished. Tobias soared into the night sky and landed on a tree branch above us. {Geez, what a mess.} he commented.  
  
{Okay, okay, let's all just demorph and we can work this out a whole lot easier.} Jake instructed calmly.  
  
We all began to demorph and true to word, we managed to scramble out of the mess we were entangled in. Marco looked around at the dark, surrounding forest.  
  
"Where are we?" he asked.  
  
"And the Yeerks?" Rachel demanded.  
  
A horrible thought to me. "And the time matrix?" I asked grimly. There was a long, uneasy silence.  
  
{Perhaps we should figure out where we ourselves are, first.} Ax recommended.  
  
"That may be a good idea." Marco said.  
  
"But how will we know where the Yeerks are?" Rachel asked impatiently.  
  
"Wherever they're handing out flyers to advertise their slug-fest." Marco suggested.  
  
{I'll go look for the nearest town. Be right back.} Tobias said.  
  
"You do that." Jake said as Tobias flew off.  
  
"So. . .now what? Are we in the past or what?" Rachel asked.  
  
I looked around. It was too soon to answer that. We could be behind the rehabilitation clinic for all we knew. "Well. . .it's too soon to tell, but. . .maybe." I said.  
  
Suddenly, Tobias's voice penetrated our thoughts. {Guys, there's some guys coming your way. I didn't see them until now because of the canopy, but now-}  
  
"What the hell is that?!" A voice cried.  
  
"O-oro?!" Another stammered.  
  
We whirled around to face the two speakers (except for Ax, who merely turned a stalk eye, then turned to face them). I squinted, and made out the figures of two people, for my eyes were beginning to adjust in the pale moonlight.  
  
The first one I recognized was a tall man (taller than Rachel and Jake) with spiky hair and wearing nothing more than a pair of cotton pants and an open jacket. I also noted the long headband tied around his head. Bandages were wrapped around his stomach and arms.  
  
The second one was practically totally different. He was a tiny man around my height (Maybe even a bit shorter) and a face so feminine, I nearly mistaken him to be a girl. He had long hair pulled back into a low and loose ponytail, and was wearing a shirt with a low collar and a skirt. At his waist was a sword and on his left cheek he carried an x-shaped scar. And he and his friend were both staring at Ax.  
  
~Kenshin~  
  
My eyes widened at the creature before us. It looked like a small horse, yet with a human torso. It had fourteen fingers-seven on each hand- and week looking arms. It had two eyes on top of twistable stalks on its head. It had no mouth and slits for a nose. It made me wonder if I had taken too many hits to the head by Kaoru-dono and I was just hallucinating. I looked over at Sano, who wore the same shocked expression. Nope. Not imagining it.  
  
"What the hell is that?!" Sano cried.  
  
"O-oro?!" I stammered.  
  
"Great, now what?!" A young, tall girl with long hair demanded. I blinked. Staring at the creature, I had scarcely noticed the four humans standing around it. A bird fluttered into a nearby tree. Their kis seemed very unusual.  
  
"Well, they've already seen us. . ." said the tall boy. He turned to the creature. "Ax, knock them unconscious. When they're unconscious, we'll leave."  
  
The creature dubbed Ax walked over to us. Warily, I placed my hand on my sakabatou, my reverse-blade sword. Whatever this creature was going to do, I would be ready.  
  
{Do not worry, humans. I do not intend to kill you.} Ax said.  
  
"Perhaps not, but sessha sees no reason for any violence whatsoever, de gozaru yo." I clicked my sword up as I said this as a warning. I could only hope they'd take the hint.  
  
Fwapp! The flat of his blade suddenly swung at my head with lightning speed. 'He's fast. . .' I thought as I swung my sakabatou up to block with the equal speed of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. With effort, despite the painful strain in my arm, I was able to keep the tail blade at bay a couple inches from my head.  
  
Author's Note-I told you that Kenshin was going to show up in the next chapter. ^_^ Please review. I will get the next chapter out shortly. Ja ne! 


	3. A Figment of Your Imagination

Author's Note-Hey, thanks for the reviews, guys. *hands cookies out to the reviews so far* Well, apparently you guys like this fanfic, and you guys want to get on with your lives, so I'll just say that I don't own Animorphs and Rurouni Kenshin. Now, now that you guys know not to sue, you may now read the fanfic.  
  
~Jake~  
  
My eyes widened. No way. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  
  
"Who is this guy?!" Marco demanded.  
  
"That's what I want to know! This little shrimp holding off Ax?! Not possible. . .I mean, he is a human, isn't he?!" Rachel agreed.  
  
{Prince Jake, what should I do? I didn't expect him to block my strike, but currently that is what he is doing.} Ax asked.  
  
"Yeah. . .same here. . ." I said. "Back off, Ax." Ax backed down and the man lowered his sword, but didn't relax. He looked over at me and stared, a serious look on his face.  
  
"Say the word, Jake." Rachel said. "Just say the word and I'm sure I could beat this guy as grizzly."  
  
I paused. Shook my head. Then said to the man, "Who are you?"  
  
"Sessha is Himura Kenshin." The man replied without missing a beat.  
  
"And I'm Sagara Sanosuke." His friend added.  
  
Himura? I knew I heard that name before, but where. . .? Surprisingly, it was Ax that knew.  
  
{Himura? Himura the Battousai?} he asked.  
  
It was clear by the look on the man's face that he didn't want to be known by that, but he replied, "Yes. . .sessha supposes. . ."  
  
{Oh yeah. He was on that documentary on the Bakumatsu that we watched a couple of months ago. . .} Tobias commented.  
  
"O-oro?" Kenshin said faintly.  
  
"Wait! That's the second voice I've heard in my head today!" Sanosuke said. He turned to Ax. "Are there more of you? Speaking of which, what are you, anyway?!"  
  
"Yes. Sessha would believe it would be best for you all to identify yourselves, de gozaru yo." Kenshin added.  
  
We all exchanged glances. "Um. . ." Cassie spoke.  
  
"A figment of your imagination!" Marco said brightly. Rachel sighed and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Could you tell us where we are and what year it is first?" Cassie asked.  
  
"Oro? Tokyo, Japan, 1887, Meiji Era." Kenshin replied.  
  
"Uh huh. . ." Cassie turned to me. "Jake, I think it's safe to tell them. Besides, they've already seen us."  
  
"Yeah, but-" Rachel started.  
  
"We'll discuss this in a moment," I interrupted, my eyes returning to Himura, "but not in front of them." To Kenshin, I said, "We need to have ourselves a little meeting. We'll be right back."  
  
Kenshin nodded. We turned and went slightly deeper into the forest.  
  
~Tobias~  
  
I fluttered over to our quick meeting and landed on another tree limb. "Jake, I don't trust those guys. That one guy was practically an equal match against Ax. What if he and his friend are controllers?!" Rachel demanded.  
  
"I would agree with Xena, except for the fact that this is not only the eighteenth century, but also that we're in Japan. But we should probably leave without telling them." Marco said.  
  
"No way! They've seen way too much. I say we kill them." Rachel shot back.  
  
I had been reviewing over what I had learned of the Battousai. His sword style was Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. He died of leprosy before the age of forty. He was in the Bakumatsu, a Japanese civil war that took place ten years ago in this time. {He may be a helpful asset though. He was an assassin from age fifteen to the end of the Bakumatsu. I think it's safe to say he has war experience.} I said.  
  
"An assassin? Him?" Rachel said doubtfully, looking back at the small man talking to Sanosuke.  
  
"But you did see what he did." Cassie pointed out. That was true. "Although, I have to say that I don't want to get he and his friend involved. You say he was an assassin when he was fifteen, so don't you think that he would be tired of war? It's wrong."  
  
"Sorry, Cass, but we may not have that kind of luxury." Marco said. "Besides, Rachel is in the war we're fighting right now and she loves every minute of it." Rachel threw a pinecone at him, which was dodged. "But then again, who says he'll want to help us? Fighting humans is one thing, but fighting aliens is a whole different level."  
  
{Marco, he was on the Inshin Shishi. They fought against slavery. If his friends and family are in that kind of danger, though-the danger of enslavement-he'll probably help.} I said.  
  
"Um, am I the only one that remembers David?" Rachel demanded. No. David was the Animorph gone wrong who was now doomed to life as a rat. Literally.  
  
"But if it happens again, we can use the same solution. Personally, I don't think I would mind having some guy with war experience and some firepower on our side." Marco said.  
  
"All his firepower is nothing but a sword. One sword is not enough to change the war." Rachel said.  
  
{If we end up trapping any people as a rat in this time, we could end up changing history.} I pointed out.  
  
{Perhaps. But history has been changed already, has it not? We've already been seen, and the Yeerks will advance in their plans. But then again, who's to say that the Yeerks are even here? I believe that we would have been with the Yeerks when they arrived here, don't you agree?} Ax asked.  
  
"Maybe. . . There could have been some kind of malfunction. . ." Jake said thoughtfully.  
  
Ax shrugged, a gesture he'd picked up from us. {It is possible, I suppose.} he said doubtfully. {Or it could be meddling from the Ellimist or Crayak.}  
  
"Don't even mention that. . ." Marco groaned. "Anyways, if the Yeerks are here, they'll have the advantage. They can get people onto their side that know about this time and place. We haven't even been to Japan in our own time. We're walking around blind." He said.  
  
Jake sighed and rubbed his temples. "Okay. Okay, all for making Kenshin and Sanosuke Animorphs, say I."  
  
Rachel sighed. "Well. . .I guess we could try it for a little while. . . Oh, heck. Let's do it!"  
  
". . .That'll work too."  
  
The votes ended up being five to one; Cassie against. Taking a deep breath, they walked over to them and I fluttered over to my former limb.  
  
Sanosuke  
  
I sighed impatiently. All this waiting was frustrating. I never have been one for patience. "What's taking them so long?!" I demanded.  
  
"Patience, Sano." Kenshin said with a calm, reasonable voice. "Sessha does not believe that they wish to cause harm. But he must admit that he is curious."  
  
"They're probably discussing how to kill us! How can you be so calm, Kenshin?!" I insisted.  
  
"Because," Kenshin said, "when sessha blocked Ax's strike, he had a fifty-fifty chance of getting to an opening sessha had, de gozaru yo. They could have killed us at any time, but they did not. Sessha has the feeling that they are experienced warriors, since they all give off very high but odd kis. Didn't you notice it, Sano?"  
  
"Well. . ." I looked over at the dark figures in the trees that seemed to be having an argument. True enough, their kis were high, but it was odd. It was hard to notice, because they were almost masked. "Who are these people?" I asked.  
  
"We're about to find out." Kenshin said. My broken hand tensed slightly as they walked over.  
  
"Well?" I asked them.  
  
"He looks ready to fight. I think you and him would get along great." The short boy whispered to the tall girl, looking at me. The girl elbowed him in the ribs, making the boy wince.  
  
"We've decided. We'll tell you," said the tall boy that I had determined was their leader. They began to explain. And what they said was probably the last thing that I expected to hear.  
  
Author's Note-Well, isn't the Kenshin-gumi in for a surprise, ne? For lack of better things to say. . .um. . .thaaank you for the reviews so far. ^_^; Now, just have déjà vu and click on the little purple button again. . . 


	4. We're Helping Too!

Author's Note-Well, I'm tired and I've still got homework. It's 12:40 A.M. and I need to get to bed soon, so I have three things to say. 1) Thank you for all the reviews so far. 2) I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or Animorphs. 3) Enjoy this chapter.  
  
~Marco~  
  
We considered telling them about last week's highschool basketball game. No, seriously, I brought it up on the way back. . .and ended up getting fwapped over the head by Rachel. We were all a bit nervous. Nervous about how they were going to react and nervous about how they were going to handle it. My clever jokes barely seemed to lighten the seriousness of the situation, if it did at all. My ribs were still sore from Rachel's sharp elbows, by the way.  
  
Kenshin had this jaded, far-off look in his eyes that nearly looked like Tobias's when he was still human by the time we finished telling him. I felt sorry for the guy. I really did. He thought he'd be war-free for the rest of his life. Now we come along and throw him into another war. It's something to feel guilty about.  
  
Sanosuke on the other hand. . .the look on his face was almost comical. His eyes were bug-eyed-practically as wide as saucers-and his mouth was hanging open like it would never shut again. When we finished, he yelled, "No way! You guys have to be pulling our legs!"  
  
"What do you think we're trying to pull?! Ax is right here in front of you!" Rachel demanded.  
  
"Well, you know, Rachel. . .six kids don't just drop out of the sky every day and say that they brought an entire army of evil space slugs with them every day. . .it takes couple of minutes for reality to set in." I said. I looked down at my spandex. Not the best weather for wearing spandex. "And as six kids dropping out of the sky fighting evil space slugs, I still say we get some better superhero outfits. Now Rachel, the Xena outfit would look great on you. A bit of leather, a shacrome. . . Yep. You're Xena."  
  
"Well thanks, Marco. I'll look for the outfit at the next Gap sale." Rachel said.  
  
"There's always Party City. . ."  
  
"And of course, you would know of the attire they have. I'm sure I've seen you there advertising as a clown." Rachel shot back.  
  
{Score one for Rachel, zip for Marco.} Tobias laughed.  
  
I looked up at Tobias. "Hey, Bird-Boy, you don't even wear clothes." I said.  
  
{I don't need to. I'm a /bird/, remember?}  
  
"Exactly." I said. I stuck out my hand to Kenshin and Sano. "Welcome to Resident Weird in the Twilight Zone. We hope you will be able to appreciate your new permanent residence. Next week: Bonfire Night." I said.  
  
"Let's hope it's not permanent." Cassie sighed. "I want to move back to Normal Apts soon."  
  
"Cassie, don't egg him on. It's bad for his health." Rachel sighed.  
  
"So," Jake said, ignoring our antics of getting off task/welcoming, "you'll help us, right?"  
  
"There is one problem." Kenshin said slowly. "I have taken a vow not to kill. That would include my enemies."  
  
~Rachel~  
  
"What?!" I demanded. This guy was an idiot! You kill your enemy, or they kill you. There was no way he was this famous assassin I kept hearing about. "Why not?!"  
  
"Repentance." Kenshin said simply. "Sessha killed many in the revolution, de gozaru you. Now he is but a simple rurouni."  
  
"Macaroni?" Marco.  
  
{Ah, yes. Macaroni. Cheesy noodles yet high in starch.} Ax said.  
  
Kenshin and Sanosuke just stared at him in confusion. {Ax. . .we're really going to have to cut down your TV time and your trips to the mall. . .} Tobias said.  
  
That figured. But then, when you're the only one of your kind on the planet and you live in the wild, what else is there really to do?  
  
"Um. . .sessha said rurouni. A wandering samurai." Kenshin said.  
  
{If you don't kill people, then why do you carry a sword?} Tobias pressed. That was true. Why carry a weapon that kills when you don't kill at all? It's nothing but dead weight.  
  
Kenshin however, smiled and drew his sword. In the moonlight, the blade gleamed. But something wasn't right. I slowly touched the steel where the blade was supposed to be. It was blunt.  
  
"This is a sakabatou. The blade is on the /other/ side." Kenshin informed me. That nearly made even less sense. Why carry a sword that's useless? I mean, yeah, he could now whack people over the head with it. But he probably could have gotten a stick for much cheaper. I glanced at his skirt and noted that with the money he could get from selling a worthless sword like that, he could at least afford pants.  
  
"But. . .that makes it completely useless. You may as well carry around a stick." I said, my tone surprised as I voiced my opinion.  
  
"Sessha doesn't feel comfortable without a sword." Kenshin merely replied.  
  
Great. Why is it that every guy that could help us ended up being a pacifist? He reminded me of the Chee.  
  
"Well, Kenshin. I hate to say this, but if you want to help, you'll have to kill if the time comes." Jake said grimly. "This isn't much different from being an assassin. You can't be seen. Being seen means being dead."  
  
"Sessha understands." Kenshin said, his eyes clouding slightly. He shook his head to clear it. "But sessha is curious about how you've managed."  
  
"We morph." Cassie said.  
  
". . .How did you acquire this power?"  
  
I smiled. Turned to Ax. "Ax, you have the blue box. You have the rest of the pieces, don't you?"  
  
{Yes. I should have the box ready in a few days.} Ax replied.  
  
"Good!" A voice said behind Kenshin and Sano. They both straightened, eyes wide as saucers as a girl and boy rose from the bushes behind them. "Because I hope you weren't planning on keeping this a secret from the rest of us, you two!" the girl continued.  
  
"Yeah! And you better not have been planning to wander off again just because you thought it would be 'too dangerous'!" The boy joined in.  
  
"Oro. . ." Kenshin said.  
  
"I thought we told you to stay at the dojo while we checked out that light!" Sano yelled back. The boy jumped on his shoulders and started to gnaw on his head/hair.  
  
"These friends of yours?" Jake asked.  
  
Sano snorted. "Friends with the brat, maybe." He said as he plucked the boy off his head and tossed him aside with one hand. I stared, amazed. The boy had to have been around ten and Sano just tossed him away like a bug! "But I don't know about her." He pointed at the girl. "Who would want to be friends with the raccoon girl, I don't kno-"  
  
"Why Sano, you good-for-nothing freeloader! You're setting a bad example for my student!" The girl yelled.  
  
"What bad example? I figured out the raccoon part on my own!" The boy retorted.  
  
{Um. . .question. How do we know that they're not controllers?} Tobias asked. {They could have been caught on the way here.}  
  
"Their kis went straight from the dojo to here without stopping. Sessha sensed them." Kenshin said.  
  
"Kis?" Jake asked.  
  
"Warrior spirirts."  
  
"Then why were you so surprised when they snuck up from behind?" Marco demanded.  
  
"Their tones. . ." Kenshin whimpered. We all fell over.  
  
Author's Note-*yawns* Please read and review. *falls asleep* 


	5. Now What is a Young Boy Doing Walking Ar...

Author's Note-Well, here is the next chapter. Sorry I didn't post one yesterday, but I didn't have the chance to get on the computer. But I made this one a bit longer. So enjoy!  
  
~Ax~  
  
"Let's head back to the dojo." Kenshin said. "We have dinner there if you are all hungry."  
  
"Don't eat it unless you wish to die." The kid whispered to us.  
  
{Is the food poisoned?} I inquired.  
  
"It tastes so bad, you'd think it was."  
  
"Yahiko! Kaoru-dono's food tastes fine, de gozaru yo." Kenshin reprimanded.  
  
"You don't have taste buds, Kenshin." Yahiko said as we started back to the house.  
  
The girl-I supposed she was Kaoru-hit Yahiko over the head. "Brat!" she scolded.  
  
"Busu!" the kid shot back. They then proceeded fighting/stretching each other's faces out. We all sweatdropped.  
  
I looked over at Kenshin. A human that could match Andalite speed. . .I didn't think it was possible, yet I was proved wrong. He must have been practicing all his life. Humans never cease to amaze and confuse me.  
  
Though despite his cheerful, naïve, and airheaded demeanor, I could recognize it as a mere guise. It was the way he grew serious immediately, the way he carried himself (usually), and the look in his eyes that gave evidence that he was an experienced warrior. It somewhat reminded me of Jake and Elfangor. Now there was one thing that confused me. Two things, actually. I may as well ask him now.  
  
{Who is sessha and what does oro mean?} I asked.  
  
Kenshin blinked over at me. "Oro?" he asked. He smiled and sweatdropped. "Sessha means 'this unworthy one' and oro. . .sessha just made up."  
  
{How humble.} Tobias commented as he fluttered down to sit on Rachel's shoulder. Rachel stroked his head gently.  
  
"Anyways, there's one problem." Kaoru said.  
  
"Hm?" Prince Jake asked. We all stared at her, blinking.  
  
"I can't afford any more freeloaders." She glared at Sanosuke, then back at us. "You guys will have to get jobs." Her stern look proved that it was not up for negotiation. Several of the Animorphs groaned.  
  
~Cassie~  
  
We continued to the dojo. When we finally arrived, we went inside where Kaoru started serving dinner. In the light of the dojo, I could see the people a bit better. Kaoru was slightly taller than me, and wore a yellow Japanese dress. Her long black hair was up in a ponytail and her eyes were blue.  
  
Yahiko had spiky black hair with a yellow shirt. He wore a green skirt like Kenshin and had a stick strapped to his back. His skin was tan and his eyes were brown. He looked around ten, maybe eleven.  
  
Sanosuke had brown hair with a long red headband. His eyes were brown. His jacket had some kind of Japanese word on it. His right hand was in a splint.  
  
When I saw Kenshin in the light, his odd appearance only grew odder. His long hair was bright red. I didn't know much about Japan in that time, but I did know that even in our time, red hair was pretty uncommon. His eyes were an unnatural color. Violet. Yes, violet. He had sort of an innocent, puppyish look to him.  
  
We all sat around the table. Yahiko and Sano picked up their bowls and pretended to eat. Kenshin and Kaoru were eating like the food was fine. Ax decided to morph human and walked inside, picked up a bowl, and began to chow down like there was no tomorrow. But then, seeing as how Ax ate an entire tray of stale cinnamon buns once, you can't really trust his taste. Tobias didn't decide to come inside, so he sat outside on a tree branch.  
  
The Animorphs and I exchanged glances. After what Yahiko had said, none of us were really willing to try it.  
  
"Well?" Kaoru asked us.  
  
I sighed as all the Animorphs looked pointedly at me. I took a bite of the sticky rice and burnt chicken. It tasted horrible. To be polite though, I tried to turn my grimace into a smile. "It's. . .great. . ." I managed to grind out.  
  
"Yes, Kaoru! It is very tasty! Veee-re-eee taaassssty-eee. . ." Ax said. Andalites don't have mouths, so not only do they go crazy around food in human morph, they love to sound out words. And it can tend to be annoying.  
  
Kaoru, Yahiko, and Sano just stared, noticing Ax for the first time. ". . .Who's this kid?" Sano asked.  
  
"That's Ax-man." Marco said, moving his food to the sides of the bowl so it looked like he'd eaten some. My polite act must not have been very convincing to most of the people there. Oh well. Hopefully she'd believe Ax.  
  
"But. . .he was just an Andalite!"  
  
"He morphed." Jake said simply.  
  
I set my bowl down when dinner was over and smiled at Sano. "Hey," I said, "can I see your hand? I mainly doctor animals, but I'm pretty familiar with human bones too."  
  
Sano shrugged. "Sure." He walked over to me.  
  
~Kenshin~  
  
I smiled over at Cassie-dono and Sano. Cassie-dono seemed pretty familiar with medicine and bones. I would have to introduce her to Megumi- dono. I kept up my cheerful front until I slipped outside. I jumped onto the roof and sat down. I noted that the temperature had dropped, creating a chill in the air.  
  
My breath turned to smoke in the night air. I stared blankly at the stars as my thoughts turned to the war.  
  
War. The very thought of the word made me feel a bit sick inside. Memories flooded my consciousness, right down to the very stench of blood, to the last whispers of slaughtered soldiers, to the very feeling of steel cutting through the bone of the opponent. And. . .  
  
"To. . .mo. . .e. . ." I whispered, a tiny tear trickling down my cheek. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut. I would not cry. I did that enough the day she died. The day I killed her.  
  
{Something wrong, Kenshin?}  
  
I blinked and looked over at the bird of prey fluttering down to sit beside me. I had come to learn that this was Tobias. I smiled, masking my emotions. "Everything is fine, Tobias, de gozaru yo." I said cheerfully.  
  
{Uh huh. Yeah, I cry when I'm happy too.} Tobias said dryly.  
  
I blinked, surprised. "You saw that tear?!" I asked.  
  
{I can see the fleas on that dog over there. My vision is that good.}  
  
I scanned the area, my eyes unable to pick up any animals. "But. . .sessha sees no dog." I said.  
  
{Exactly.}  
  
So, Tobias did have good vision. I smiled. "Having a bird morph must make things very convenient, de gozaru yo." I said.  
  
Tobias was quiet for a moment. Then he said, {I guess. I mean, that all depends on the bird morph you morph into. Birds of prey have good vision and good hearing. Owls can see in the dark. Seagulls. . .um. . .clean up edible garbage. And they look pretty common when near the beach. Pigeons are good for nothing. Crows are uncontrollable psychos that are good for absolutely nothing. Yeah. I'm glad I'm a hawk.}  
  
I blinked. "Speaking of which, sessha has never seen you demorph."  
  
{That's because I can't. I went over the time limit and got stuck in morph. I suppose the others were planning on telling you guys about it right before you were givin the power to morph.} Tobias replied. Time limit? I didn't remember being told about a time limit.  
  
"What time limit?" I asked.  
  
{If you go into morph for over two hours, you're stuck in that morph. . .forever.}  
  
~Tobias~  
  
"Oh." The former samurai said.  
  
{Yeah.} I thought for a moment. {Now, a question for you. You were in a war when you were our age. How. . .did you manage to kill so many people, yet remain untouched, the way you are now?}  
  
There was a long silence. Finally, Kenshin replied, "Sessha doesn't know. Sessha had to give up a lot. But he knew that so long as he was helping people, and getting rid of the evil in the world bit by bit, or at least what he had perceived as evil at the time, he could be at peace for then. Now he is repenting and that helps him be at peace even more."  
  
{Ah. Deep.} I commented. {Well, I'm going to find myself a nice comfy tree limb and get some shuteye. You should too. Night, Kenshin.} I flapped my wings and took off. I saw Kenshin wave and jump off the roof. But I didn't sleep. Not just yet.  
  
I flew around in the star-speckled sky for a while. I knew it was dangerous, what with the threat of owls and all, and without thermals it was hard to fly, but I felt restless. Suddenly, I saw a light in the trees. What was that? I swooped down and saw a much, much greater threat than thermal-less air and owls: Yeerks.  
  
I perched on a branch and watched as the humans and Hork-Bajir warmed themselves next to campfires. I listened to their conversations as I perched on a branch.  
  
"I knew this was a bad idea." One of the humans grumbled as he warmed himself by the fire.  
  
"Then you should have complained." Said another.  
  
"And be pleading for mercy from Visser Three a split second later? No thanks. I'd rather be cold."  
  
"I wonder if the Andalite Bandits followed us here."  
  
"I hope not. Our mission is hard enough as it is. Hopefully this is an Andalite Bandit-free time."  
  
"Or not." Said the other one, glaring up at me.  
  
{Uh oh. . .} I said.  
  
"Andalite! Andalite Bandit!" The man yelled.  
  
I flew into the air, and not a moment too soon. I wanted as the controllers followed me. It was a group of at least twenty-five humans, five Hork-Bajir, and five Taxxons, easily tromping through the forest.  
  
{Woah!} I yelled, swooping out of the way of a column of light shooting into the sky. Lasers. Dracon beams. I couldn't stay in the air; I had to take to hiding, and not in the forest. I swooped down into the dark streets of the nearby Tokyo. Hiding behind the barrels, I began to morph to human.  
  
I grew larger in size. My wings began to shrivel up and smoothed out into human arms. My scaly bird legs softened into human skin. My face softened as well and my feathers on the top of my head stuck up, thinning until turning into messy, brown hair. My razor-sharp, ripping talons dulled and shrank into human fingernails. I was now human Tobias.  
  
I shivered. It was too cold out to be wearing spandex. I stood up and walked out into the empty streets. "Now this doesn't look too odd." I muttered to myself. "A kid walking around in a biker outfit in the empty streets of Meiji Tokyo in the middle of the night."  
  
I walked down the street, barefoot. I wasn't sure how to get back to the dojo by foot, but I had a good, general idea.  
  
I passed a dark alleyway and looked around warily, tensing slightly. I felt defenseless like this. I was picked on a lot when I was a human. And as a human I felt blind and deaf. Suddenly I felt something poking me in the back. I stiffened in surprise.  
  
"Now what," a quiet, calm voice asked behind me, "is a young boy doing walking around the streets of Tokyo at this hour?"  
  
Author's Note-Well, there's the chapter. Once again, thank you for the reviews so far! Please review! Ja ne! 


	6. Burning Amber Eyes

Author's Note-Yay! The school week is gonna be cut short! And that means more time to write. ^_^ Anyways, the only downside is that I don't own Animorphs or Rurouni Kenshin. . .though I wish I did!  
  
~Sanosuke~  
  
Cassie finished resetting my hand. "There we go." She said, smiling. "Your hand should be better in a couple of weeks. What'd you break it on?"  
  
I explained to her about the battle with Shishio. She listened intently, then shook her head. "These are violent times." She commented.  
  
"Yeah. The government isn't very stable. Personally, I hate it. But people try to take advantage of the instability, so we have our share of evil characters around here. That's where Kenshin and I come in. We protect Japan from evil." I replied.  
  
"So do we, you lazy bum!" Yahiko yelled, jumping onto my shoulders and gnawing on my head. Cassie stared and sweatdropped. Kaoru, Jake, Marco, and Rachel looked over and sweatdropped as well. Kenshin and Ax had left. The four that were currently staring at me went back to talking about jobs.  
  
"Well, what does Sanosuke do for a living?" Rachel asked. Yahiko stopped gnawing on my head and went back over to them.  
  
"He does nothing. He's just an idiot freeloader that only knows how to fight." Kaoru said snippishly.  
  
"I /was/ a fighter-for-hire before I met you guys." I retorted.  
  
". . .You mean you were in a WWF kind of thing?" Marco asked.  
  
"A WW what?"  
  
Rachel looked over at Marco skeptically. "Does it look like he'd be in the WWF?" she asked him. She turned to me. "Were you a hit man?" Rachel asked.  
  
"No way." I said. "People would hire me to fight someone. My price would depend on how much fun I'd have in the fight."  
  
"So. . . You'd beat up somebody if I told you that they stole my lunch money when I was five?" Marco said.  
  
"Someone stole your lunch money when you were five?" Rachel asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Hey, it's happened to everyone once, I'm sure!" Marco said defensively. Rachel continued to stare at him, eyebrow still raised. "Well. . .except for you. . .who'd chase the person all the way to Hong Kong until he gave it back. . ." Marco muttered.  
  
"Thank you," she said.  
  
"Um. . .anyways. . .no, I'm not a hit man. I was just a guy looking for fights to take my mind off of what happened to Captain Sagara and the Seki Houtai." I said.  
  
"Hey!" Jake said. "Now I remember where I heard the name Sagara from! He was that guy. . .on our world history quizzes. . ."  
  
"Really? I can't remember. . ." Cassie said sheepishly. "I'm bad at remembering historical people. . ."  
  
"Oh yeah. . ." Rachel said. "He was that guy. . ." she turned to me. "You were that guy. . .right?"  
  
"No, I'm not. He died. . .ten years ago. . ." I said quietly.  
  
"Oh. . .sorry to hear it. . ." Cassie said.  
  
There was a long silence.  
  
"Um. . .are we having a period of mourning?" Marco asked, half joking, half curious and looking around.  
  
"Nope." Yahiko said. "So anyways, I don't recommend that line of work. Kenshin wouldn't approve."  
  
"I take it that Sanosuke challenged Kenshin one time?" Jake asked, looking over at me.  
  
"Yeah, and the battle was incredible! Kenshin won though." Yahiko said.  
  
"Geez, what is this? Crush-Sanosuke's-Esteem day?" I demanded.  
  
"Yes. We made a holiday for that." Kaoru said.  
  
"I'll bet."  
  
"By the way, is that what the back of your jacket says? Fighter-for- Hire?" Cassie asked curiously.  
  
"You guys can't read Japanese?" Kaoru asked.  
  
"Nope. We're American." Jake replied.  
  
"America? Isn't that one of the Western countries?" Yahiko asked.  
  
"Yeah. It's okay. I guess. Kind of stupid at the moment." Rachel replied.  
  
"What kind of government does it have?" I asked.  
  
"A democracy." Cassie said.  
  
"Well, no wonder. I've always thought of democracy being kind of weak." I said.  
  
"Sano," Cassie said quickly, before an argument could break out, "we still don't know what your jacket says."  
  
"Oh. It means evil." I replied casually.  
  
~Marco~  
  
We all stared at Sano, except for Kaoru and Yahiko who took this as normal. "Wait. . .what?" I demanded. "Aren't you a good guy though?"  
  
Sano nodded. "The stupid government put it on the backs of Captain Sagara and the Seki Houtai." He said.  
  
"The Seki-"  
  
{Prince Jake!} A voice rang out in our heads. We heard clopping on the stairs and got the feeling that Ax-man couldn't climb stairs. Jake instantly snapped into fearless leader mode and opened the door.  
  
"What is it, Ax?" he asked.  
  
{I just saw a dracon flash in the forest. It shot up into the sky. My guesses are that it was at Tobias.} Ax told us grimly.  
  
"Tobias!" Rachel cried, jumping up. Oh yeah, did I mention that Xena loves Bird-boy? Shhh! Don't tell anyone! Big secret!  
  
{Also,} Ax said in private thought-speech from Kaoru, Yahiko, and Sano, {Kenshin left. I believe it was to evaluate the situation, but it's possible that it could be something more.}  
  
That was understandable. We didn't know these guys very well yet, and they didn't know us. It was possible for betrayal this early in the game. But I hoped that wasn't the case.  
  
Jake muttered an unprintable word and turned to us. "Cassie, you stay here. Watch over Kaoru and the others. Everyone else, move out." he said as he ran outside, orange and black fur beginning to spread over his face as he spoke.  
  
"Oh man. Oh man." I said as I climbed to my feet and followed. Rachel ran after me, then Ax, then surprisingly, Yahiko and Sanosuke. Jake had already melted into the darkness of the trees, but two golden eyes glowed in the shadows.  
  
{Yahiko, Sano, what do you guys think you're doing?} he demanded. Sano opened his mouth, but Yahiko spoke for him.  
  
"We're going with you to help!" he said.  
  
{Yahiko, Sano! You two can't even morph yet. Stay here with Cassie.}  
  
"But-"  
  
"He's right. You two will only get in the way. Listen to Jake; we'll be back shortly." Rachel said.  
  
Sano stopped for a moment. He then nodded and grabbed the back of Yahiko's collar. "Alright. But if you guys aren't back in an hour and a half, we're going to find you." he said.  
  
{Fine. If you do, leave Yahiko with Kaoru and take Cassie. Marco, you morph to wolf. Rachel, we're just checking things out and looking for Tobias and Kenshin, but we'll need firepower just in case. You have a cheetah morph, right?} Jake asked.  
  
{Yeah.} Rachel replied.  
  
{Good. Morph that. Ax?}  
  
{Yes, Prince Jake?} Ax asked.  
  
Jake sighed. {Go into owl morph. Lead us to where you saw the light. Keep an eye out for Kenshin and Tobias too.}  
  
{Yes.}  
  
I looked at Yahiko and Sano to make sure that they went into the house. When I was, I began to morph.  
  
~Rachel~  
  
Of all my morphs, this was one of my favorites. Next to grizzly. And elephant. And bald eagle and dolphin. . .let's just say it was up there. Way above termite and flea. It was a good morph. I began to morph cheetah and felt the changes begin.  
  
{Man, this is our second mission tonight. We really need a break.} Marco whined as he began to morph wolf.  
  
"Quit your whin-argag-" I said, sharp fangs beginning to fill my mouth.  
  
{Say what?}  
  
My voice was replaced by thought-speech. {Whining. Quit your whining.} I said. Blond fur began to cover my body as my legs shortened. I fell on all fours. My vision went black for a moment. I could suddenly hear things better, smell things better. When my vision returned, I was even able to see things a bit better. It was like taking a person that had been blindfolded and had their nose and ears plugged up for their entire life and then suddenly removing those obstacles. Not intending to sound like Marco, I could see the light.  
  
Muscle grew upon muscle. My tail sprouted, and extension of my tail bone. And then I felt it as the mind of the cheetah kicked in. Cool. Confident. Focused.  
  
With fluid strength I followed Jake, Marco close behind. Ax soared about us, a phantom of the night sky in his owl morph. {I smell human. That way.} Marco nodded towards the forest, {And there.} He nodded towards the side.  
  
{Yeah. I smell it too.} Jake agreed. I could as well, though faintly.  
  
{That is the nearby town.} Ax informed us.  
  
{Tokyo?} I asked.  
  
{Most likely.}  
  
After awhile we stopped about ten yards away from flickering firelight. {Yeah. I can tell. This is a Yeerk camp. I smell Hork-Bajir, Taxxon, and Yeerk. Not to mention human.} Marco said. I saw the dark figure of a human behind a tree.  
  
{Hey, there's someone standing behind that tree over there. Probably Kenshin.} I said. Apparently, Kenshin sensed us as well. We heard his sword click up in warning. That was a conformation of my beliefs.  
  
{Kenshin, don't worry. It's me, Jake.} Jake said.  
  
Kenshin straightened. Then he looked over his shoulder at us. But he looked back at us not with violet eyes, but with practically glowing amber. {Is he morphing?!} Marco demanded. {Is he morphing into a cat or something?!}  
  
{Um. . .Kenshin?} Jake said. Kenshin stared back at him coldly.  
  
"Hm?" he asked, keeping quiet so that the Yeerks wouldn't hear him. Smart guy.  
  
{This is a Yeerk camp. Have you seen Tobias?}  
  
Kenshin shook his head and looked back at the camp.  
  
{Kenshin,} Jake said, {let's go back now.} Kenshin tensed and hesitated. I could tell that he was torn between staying and fighting the Yeerks then and there and doing the smarter, safer thing-going back with us. Jake must have seen this too, because he added, {Kaoru's worried about you.}  
  
There was a long pause, then finally Kenshin nodded and walked over to us.  
  
{Ax, have you seen Tobias yet?} Jake asked.  
  
{No, Prince Jake. Not a sign of him.}Ax said. I began to worry more so than I was before. As if Ax had read my mind, he added, reassuringly {Perhaps he is just resting and this was a false alarm.}  
  
{Maybe.} Jake said doubtfully. {Let's get Kenshin back to the dojo. We'll look again in an hour.}  
  
~Ax~  
  
{An hour?!} Rachel demanded. If tigers could wince, I believe Prince Jake did as Rachel began ranting to him in private thought-speech. At my altitude, I could see the edge of the forest and the city called Tokyo. The city had a few groups of people wandering around. I had seen this in the town in our time. Marco said that these were either people on third shift, vampires, or people called 'drunks'.  
  
{C'mon. Let's go.} Prince Jake said. I saw he, Rachel, Marco, and Kenshin turn to go back. I swooped back and after about ten minutes of flying, arrived back at the dojo.  
  
{We're back.} I announced as landed and began to demorph.  
  
Cassie opened the door, Yahiko behind her. "Well? Did you find them?" Cassie asked expectantly.  
  
"Them? I thought you were just looking for Tobias." Yahiko said.  
  
I turned a stalk eye back towards the forest. Rachel, Marco, and Prince Jake began to demorph. Kenshin suddenly clenched his fist and punched himself in the face. I frowned. What was going on with him? His glowing amber eyes faded back to violet. He smiled and walked inside.  
  
"Kenshin, where have you been?! I was worried about you, ya know!" I heard Kaoru yell angrily. Prince Jake turned to me, now human again. "Ax, the Yeerks are probably searching the forest. Keep a sharp eye out." he said.  
  
{Yes.} I said. He, Rachel, and Marco walked inside.  
  
Author's Note-Hey, guys, you know what to do! Please review. Oh, and one thing: Can you guys suggest what some good battle morphs and bird morphs for the Kenshin-gumi would be? Remember, they're in Meiji Japan, so they probably won't have a lot of access to many animals unless a Western circus comes along. Well, ja ne! 


	7. Cassie and Jake Sitting in a Tree

Author's Note-Hi guys. Sorry that this chapter isn't very long, but I haven't had much time to write today. I'll try to make the next chapter a bit longer. I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or Animorphs, by the way, so don't sue me.  
  
~Cassie~  
  
"You shouldn't worry about sessha, de gozaru yo." Kenshin said.  
  
"Well I do! Where were you?!" Kaoru demanded.  
  
Kenshin and Jake exchanged looks. Finally, Kenshin, apparently figuring that honesty was more important than survival, said, "Sessha was with Jake and the others, de gozaru yo."  
  
"WHAT?!" Kaoru yelled angrily. "You shouldn't be going into these battles without us!" She then turned to Jake and gave him a death glare. "And as for you-"  
  
"Kaoru," I interrupted, deciding that it was time to intervene, "I'm getting pretty thirsty. Do you have any tea in this place?" I smiled neutrally.  
  
"Hm? Oh sure." Kaoru said, her mind going completely to another subject. . .hopefully. "Follow me." She walked out of the room.  
  
As I followed and passed Jake, he whispered, "Thanks Cass." I grinned sheepishly and winked at him.  
  
Outside the door, I could hear Marco singing, "Cassie and Jake sitting in a tree-Ow!"  
  
"You're so immature, Marco. . ." I could hear Rachel sigh.  
  
We got to the kitchen and began making the tea. The kitchen was littered with broken dishes and eggshells and other things I would not want to take a guess at. I sweatdropped and supposed one of the guys was going to clean this up in the morning. One thing was sure: In the morning, Kaoru was /not/ cooking. "So," Kaoru spoke up, "I see that you're really good at medicine and stuff. Are you a doctor?"  
  
I smiled. "I am today. . .I guess. Like I said, though, normally I help animals."  
  
"Well, Sanosuke /is/ a roster-head." Kaoru giggled.  
  
"I heard that! Sano yelled from the other room.  
  
"Good! Maybe now you'll wash your hair!" Kaoru called back. I sweatdropped.  
  
~Kenshin~  
  
I was thankful that Cassie-dono had turned away the attention of Kaoru-dono. But that still didn't turn away the attention of everyone else, and more than anything at the moment, I was wishing for some time alone. Jake was pacing back and forth, rubbing his temples. Marco, Sano, Yahiko, and Rachel-dono watched him quietly. Finally, Jake turned to me.  
  
"Kenshin," he said in a calm, quiet voice that I could tell suppressed his anger, "you know nothing about the Yeerks. If you were caught, they would find out who we were. They catch us, and the world is enslaved."  
  
"Sessha would never give them information, no matter what the torture it would be that he would have to endure. Sessha does not fear death." I replied defiantly. Rachel-dono rolled her eyes and Marco snorted.  
  
"Kenshin, they don't need to use torture. If you're a controller, then the Yeerk can read your thoughts and memories like a book." Jake said.  
  
Yes. I saw what was going on. I saw the pools of sludge rippling with slugs. I saw the creaming, crying, hopeless faces of the victims. It filled me with anger and sadness and then the numbness of reality. So much that I began to feel myself slipping away. . .  
  
"Kenshin, why are your eyes beginning to turn amber?" Rachel asked.  
  
"What?! Oh no! Kenshin!" Sanosuke cried, moving over to me. Everything went black for a moment, and suddenly I could see everything much sharper, like a bird of prey. Then my vision turned to blood red. "Kenshin! Kenshin!" Sanosuke yelled, grabbing my shoulders and giving me a rough shake.  
  
I blinked, everything going back to normal. "O-oro?" I stammered. I looked around to see the Animorphs staring at me as Yahiko explained how I would go into my assassin personality when I was enraged and whatnot. When Yahiko was finished, there was a long silence. I stared at the floor.  
  
Finally, Marco spoke up what everyone must have been thinking: "So. . .he's insane?"  
  
~Jake~  
  
I glanced at Marco, then looked over at Kenshin. Well, this was something they forgot to mention. Kenshin was a schizophrenic.  
  
"He's mentally unbalanced, Marco." Rachel said, trying to put it in a kinder and more intelligent light.  
  
"As are we all." Marco said. "But none of us are schizos. Except maybe Tobias." He said thoughtfully. "Mind of a hawk and a human."  
  
"Maybe." Rachel said coldly.  
  
"Oro. . ." Kenshin said, staring down at the floor and reminding us that he was still in the room.  
  
"Kenshin," I asked, "Can you fight even in Battousai mode?"  
  
Kenshin silently nodded. "Sessha can fight perhaps even better that way. But he takes all life for granted, including his own."  
  
"You can tell when he's Battousai and when he's not. His eyes turn gold and he barely talks." Yahiko added helpfully.  
  
I sighed. "Okay. . .Kenshin, you still help. I'm not going to stop you." I said. "But try to keep tabs on Battousai and your anger, got it?"  
  
"Hai." Kenshin said. I had a feeling that he didn't understand the phrase of 'keeping tabs', but I hoped that he at least got the idea.  
  
We all looked grim as the following silence stretched on for a couple of minutes. Finally, Kenshin smiled and stood up. "Well, sessha is going to retire to bed. If you need him, please feel free to wake him up, de gozaru yo. Goodnight." He walked down the hall and into a room.  
  
"Kenshin can handle himself. I'm positive of that." Yahiko said confidently, nodding.  
  
"I'm not so sure, kid-" Sanosuke said.  
  
"Don't call me a kid!"  
  
"Though I would trust him with my life, Kenshin is going to have enough trouble with the war within himself first, before dealing with any external problems. I'm sure the fight with Shishio was enough of a struggle against Battousai, but this is gonna be a full-blown war! Who knows how long this could go on for."  
  
"Not if we stop it before it starts!" Rachel argued. "I want to hurry up finish this so I can get back to my own time where people have malls and men wear pants!"  
  
"What do you mean guys don't wear pants?! That was only Kamatari, the cross dresser from the Juppongatana!" Yahiko demanded.  
  
"Guys wear pants! I wear pants." Sano agreed.  
  
"You're wearing a skirt, aren't you?!" Rachel demanded to Yahiko.  
  
"It's a hakama! Samurai wear these kind of pants!" Yahiko retorted.  
  
". . .So they're kind of like skorts?"  
  
"What the hell is a skort?"  
  
I ignored the two's bickering and turned back to Sano. "Are you saying that we shouldn't let him help?" I asked.  
  
Sanosuke shook his head. "Not really. Kenshin was the Inshin Shishi's trump card. Without him, they probably wouldn't have won the war. But I am saying that Kenshin will fight until the Yeerks lose the war. . .or until he looses his sanity."  
  
Author's Note-Hey, thanks for all the ideas on the morphs. If you have any more, feel free to tell me. Oh, and Zazu, thanks for reminding me. I had forgotten that they had private zoos. ^_^; They'll probably find one of those, and it will probably make picking morphs a whole lot easier. And Riverwood, lol! I can picture the Animorphs trying to convince Yahiko to morph into a gerbil. . .Well, it's late, and I gotta go, so review! Ja ne! 


	8. My Name is Toru

Author's Note-Well, here's the next chapter. Insert Catchy Name and Mystic Sky Dragon, your question of who's behind Tobias is about to be answered. Oh, and by the way, I own nothing. So here's the next chapter. Read and enjoy.  
  
~Tobias~  
  
I almost reeled at the smell of cigarette smoke, being so out of touch with my human senses, but I managed to keep my composure. My mind raced to make up a good lie. "Why should I tell you?!" I demanded. 'Good,' I told myself, 'find out who this guy is first'.  
  
"Ahou. I'm a part of the police force." My captor said. Damn.  
  
"Oh really?" I asked. I wanted to turn around, but who knew what he was pointing at my back? It could have been a gun or a dracon beam for all I knew.  
  
"Yes. Really. Will you answer my question, or do I have to take you down to the jailhouse for contempt to an officer?"  
  
"Gee, that's. . .pretty harsh. . ." I said, trying to sound innocent. He must have seen me crawling out from behind those barrels. That probably did look a bit suspicious, not to mention my clothes and the time of night it was. I should have been more careful. "I'm. . .running an errand." I lied.  
  
"Oh really? For whom? And what kind of errand involves sneaking around barrels in front of shops?"  
  
"Erm. . ." I bit my lip. "I was. . .delivering a letter. . .from my brother Sanosuke. . .to give to a friend. And I accidentally dropped it, kicked it, and it went sliding into the bunch of barrels." I lied. Oh boy. What was I getting myself into? No way was he going to believe a lame lie like that.  
  
I was right. I could feel the thing pressing into my back a bit harder. A stick? Or maybe a sword hilt? Knowing this time line, it was most likely the latter. But wasn't there supposed to be a sword ban in this time? Then again, Kenshin carried a sword. Hm. . .  
  
"Oh?" said the person. "I didn't know that he had a little brother. Or any brothers at all, for that matter." Crap! He knew Sano?! "Then again, you do seem to be as much as an ahou as he is."  
  
Ahou. I had the feeling that was some kind of Japanese insult, but how should I know? This did seem a bit screwed up. . . They must have been speaking Japanese, and we must have somehow switched to the Japanese language when we leaped through time. But apparently, we couldn't understand a few words or read Japanese writing.  
  
"I'm from out of town. . ." I said, hoping he'd buy that.  
  
"What is your name?"  
  
I thought for a few moments, my mind going over all of the animes I had heard kids talking about. Lets see. . .Pokemon, DBZ, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptors. . . Nothing. Finally, I said, "Toru. My name is Toru." I replied.  
  
". . .Took you awhile to remember your name."  
  
"Erm. . .late reaction time?"  
  
"I hear voices! Over there!" A voice shouted.  
  
"Damn those Andalite Bandits! They must have morphed to human!" said another.  
  
"Look," I said, "you don't want to get caught by these people. Just let me go and get out of here."  
  
". . .Hn." The person said. "Why not?"  
  
"Because. . .they're. . .not nice." I said. "And they've got guns."  
  
I looked around, preparing to bolt away, or at least into the shadows, whether my captor let me leave or not. I needed to find somewhere that I could hide, somewhere that I could morph and get out of here. Unfortunately, my captor had another idea. Strong fingers wrapped around my arm and yanked me into the dark alleyway. "Don't say a word." He said quietly. He peered back into the street and watched the controllers.  
  
"Where are they?" One asked. I poked my head out of the alleyway slightly as well to watch. There seemed to be five in the group, all armed with dracon beams.  
  
The man put a hand on his sword hilt. I looked up at him. True enough, he was wearing a police uniform. But it was too dark in the alley to see his face.  
  
I sighed, frustrated. I was helpless as a human. If I could get out of morph, I could probably escape. Because after all, escaping is a whole lot easier as a hawk than as a human. Not to mention that my minutes were ticking down and I had no time to waste.  
  
I began to step away, farther back into the darkness of the alley, but the man grabbed my arm again and shook his head. The controllers ran past, not seeing us in the shadows. "Follow me." The man said. I reluctantly followed him down the dark street.  
  
Unfortunately, our stealthiness was not enough. "There!" someone yelled. I looked around and saw a controller at the end of the street, pointing at us.  
  
"Kuso. . ." the man growled. "I don't know what you did to make them angry, brat, but it must have been serious. This way."  
  
We began to run, several controllers running after us. I could barely keep up with the man. We turned a corner and quietly slipped into a dark building. As he lit the candle, I could see that we were in what must have been in the police station.  
  
I could see him, as well. He towered above me, seven feet tall, it must have been. That was a bit odd, considering that people from this time were not supposed to be that tall. His hair was black and his face was long as he looked down at me like a bug.  
  
"Who are you?" I asked. Suddenly I remembered. I had seen him in that documentary. He was-  
  
"Goro Fujita." Said the man.  
  
~Kenshin~  
  
I sighed. What was I going to do? I had sworn never to kill again. . .now I was agreeing to a war. To basically become an assassin again. Was I doing the right thing? I scarcely even knew what was right and wrong anymore. . .  
  
I had to help Japan. No, not just Japan, but the entire earth. But if I killed. . .then I would be a murderer again, like shisou had said, to Yeerks and the people they controlled alike. What was worse though? Death with eventual total enslavement? Or life with unreasonable hope? Both would be wrong. . .  
  
I shook my head. A headache was beginning to grow. Of course, I wasn't resting like I told the others I would be. My futon was folded up in a corner, but then again, I rarely used a futon. Normally I would just sit against the wall, sword in hand, like I was now.  
  
Kaoru-dono had been all too kind to allow me to stay here. I didn't want her getting hurt. I didn't want Sano and Yahiko to get hurt, either. I wondered if there was some sort of way of winning the war without killing. But every way I thought of seemed hopeless. It all ended with taking life.  
  
I looked up at the full moon. "What should I do. . .Tomoe?" I whispered. "Should I help them? Should I stop them, even? What should I do?"  
  
Ten people against an entire army. Against an entire empire, planet even. How was there any hope for us? What could we possibly do to stop them?  
  
The pounding in my head became worse and I winced. "Oro. . ." I groaned.  
  
"Hey, are you okay in there?" I heard Cassie's voice come from the other side of the shoji. I blinked. "Hello?"  
  
I stayed silent so that she would think that I was asleep. I heard her footsteps trail off into the distance. It was good to know that I wasn't going to face this alone, but still.ten people? When the Andalite that gave them the power to morph chose these kids, did he realize that so few people were being chosen to fight the Yeerks? I was surprised that the Animorphs, mere children, had managed to survive for so long.  
  
{You turned the tide of the war pretty well, I would think. And you /were/ only their age.} one side of me said. My Battousai half. It had managed to cut through even my headache.  
  
No. All the people supporting the Inshin Shishi deserved all the credit. I was just one in the masses.  
  
{And yet, you seemed to kill a bit more. Face it, they were without a good deal of their officials because /you/ killed them.}  
  
I wished I never did. My hands were stained with so much blood. No matter how many times I washed them, they still reeked of that smell. And I wondered as my fingers brushed the scar on my left cheek if that would bleed again as well whenever I killed.  
  
I had killed so many. Even my own beloved, Tomoe. The people that I had killed came to haunt me in my dreams almost every night, making sure that I barely got any sleep, and when I did, it was very light. But then, who was I to complain? I wasn't worthy enough to have the right to complain about things like that. I didn't want to worry Kaoru-dono and the others.  
  
Though I wish I had something for my headache. I could tell that it was from the stress. I had gotten a lot of headaches when I learned about Shishio's plans as well, but I never told anyone about them. Megumi-dono could probably give me some kind of medicine or something, but I didn't want to bother her. I sighed again.  
  
After some time of my musings, the shoji opened. "Kenshin, the Animorphs have decided to check back at the Yeerk camp. Sanosuke is going into the city to check there. I'm going with him. Are you coming?" Yahiko asked.  
  
I stood up and nodded. "Let's go." I said. I followed him out of the dojo and into the crisp, cool night air.  
  
Author's Note-Geez, I've been writing this on notebook paper as a rough draft and was on page 28. Now I've practically gone through the entire rough-draft version so far. I'll try to have the next chapter posted tomorrow at the usual time, but still. . .geez. . .I'm going to have to write more. . . Anyways, please review, and all suggestions and ideas are welcome. Ja ne! 


	9. Apparently, they seemed to know each oth...

Author's Note-Well, vacation time is over and I'm posting again. I don't own Rurouni Kenshin and Animorphs. Well, read and review.  
  
~Sanosuke~  
  
I ran down the path towards Tokyo. Jake had told me to stay at the dojo, but I couldn't just sit there and do nothing. "Sanosuke! Wait up! Slow down!" I heard Yahiko call behind me.  
  
I slowed my pace slightly and let Yahiko and Kenshin catch up. "You realize that Jake told us to stay at the dojo, right?" Yahiko demanded.  
  
"Yeah, but do /you/ want to just sit there and do nothing?" I demanded. That shut the kid up.  
  
"But how do you suggest we go about finding him, de gozaru ka?" Kenshin asked.  
  
I grinned and looked over at him. "Remember how you said that the Animorphs have an odd ki? I'm hoping that it will stand out from everyone else's." I said.  
  
"Good idea."  
  
We crossed the bridge. "Now, I think we should split up." I said.  
  
"Sessha doesn't recommend it." Kenshin said.  
  
"Why?"  
  
Kenshin pointed to a group of people silently.  
  
"Peop-" I started, but Kenshin put a finger to his lips. "People?" I whispered.  
  
"No, Sano. Not just people. Can you feel it? There's twice as many kis as there are people." Kenshin replied.  
  
I blinked. Now that he mentioned it, there /were/ twice as many. Half of the kis felt normal, but the other half was week. "Yeerks?" I whispered.  
  
"Controllers."  
  
I hesitated, but then I said confidently, "Yeah, but we can handle them if they give us any trouble, right?"  
  
"Perhaps, but weigh out the odds. They have guns from the future. You have a broken hand and Yahiko is only a student."  
  
"Hey, I'm tough! And what about you?" Yahiko demanded.  
  
"Sessha may not be fast enough, de gozaru yo. Those guns have advanced technology; who knows what they can do."  
  
". . .Fire bullets like the guns now?" I suggested. Kenshin merely shrugged.  
  
"Sessha believes that stealth would be the best thing to use at the moment." Kenshin recommended.  
  
"Alright then. Let's go." Yahiko said. We nodded and slipped into the shadows, silently following Kenshin's lead. The controllers didn't even see or notice us as we quietly crept by. I grinned. This was going to be even easier than I thought. Then again, Tobias may not even be in the city. That kind of killed my grin a little bit.  
  
"Where are we going? Do you guys even know?" Yahiko demanded.  
  
"We. . .kind of have a good idea." I said lamely.  
  
". . .You don't even know, do you?"  
  
"He-"  
  
"Shhh. . ." Kenshin said, silencing our bickering before it could advance into persistent arguing. Some controllers walked by. When they had finally turned the corner, I whispered, "Geez, the city is swarmed with controllers!"  
  
Kenshin nodded. "And it will probably get worse in the daytime. Sessha suggests you be very wary from this point on, de gozaru yo." He said. He motioned with his hand and we started down the street again.  
  
We continued in silence for five minutes like this. Finally Kenshin spoke up, "I sense him."  
  
He darted across the street and into the police station. Yahiko and I followed. "He was arrested? How'd they manage to do that?" I whispered incredulously.  
  
"Yeah. Why would they arrest a bird?" Yahiko asked. Kenshin opened the door and I saw a boy inside. At the desk though was someone that I really did not like: Hajime Saitou.  
  
~Tobias~  
  
I looked up to see Kenshin, Yahiko, and Sano, and sighed in relief. Good. Now I could leave. If they knew who I was.  
  
Kenshin seemed to understand immediately. Sano and Yahiko on the other hand, were totally and utterly clueless. Goro-whom I had recognized to be Hajime Saitou, the captain of the third Shinsengumi group-continued to wait for an explanation, as had been since we arrived here.  
  
"Saitou." Kenshin said.  
  
"Himura." Saitou greeted curtly. Okay. Apparently they seemed to know each other. Unfortunately, I didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. To Sano, he said, "You shouldn't let your brother wander around in these conditions."  
  
"Brother?!" Sano demanded. Behind Saitou, I stood up and nodded frantically. Thankfully, it seemed to click. "What did you do to be arrested by the police?!" he scolded.  
  
"Nothing. . ." I said, staring at the floor and playing the part of an ashamed younger brother.  
  
Yahiko looked from me, to Sano, to me again. "Brother? Sanosuke-" he started. Sano covered his mouth.  
  
"We're here to pick him up." Kenshin stated.  
  
"Well apparently, Toru's made quite a few people angry. Calling him an 'Andalite Bandit', whatever that means." Saitou said. Surprisingly, it was Yahiko that helped me out with that.  
  
"Andalite Bandit? It's some kind of foreign insult. I've been called that a few times by tourists before." He said airily.  
  
Saitou stared at Sano and Yahiko doubtingly. Finally, to me he said, "Kid. You're free to go."  
  
I looked up and walked over to my three friends. "Well, we'll be seeing you later, sessha supposes." Kenshin said cheerfully. We started out the door.  
  
"Himura." Saitou said before we left.  
  
"Hm?" Kenshin asked, looking over his shoulder and blinking.  
  
"I am not a fool. I'll be dropping by the dojo tomorrow for the truth."  
  
Sano, Yahiko, and I exchanged glances, but Kenshin calmly said, "If you want to. But sessha believes that you will only find it a waste of your time, de gozaru yo."  
  
"Perhaps." Saitou said as he shut the door.  
  
~Kenshin~  
  
I sighed as we walked back to the dojo in silence. The controllers seemed to be giving up their search and slowly leaving the city, group by group. Only when we crossed the bridge did we begin to speak.  
  
Sano grinned. "Brother, huh? Why did you tell him that I was your brother?"  
  
Tobias shrugged. "I had to make up something." He merely said.  
  
"So you're Tobias." Yahiko said. It was more of a statement than a question. "You look a lot different as a bird. In fact, I can see why some people would kind of think that you're Sanosuke's brother. You /do/ kind of look like him."  
  
I looked at the two. The similarities were slight. Tobias wasn't nearly as tall as Sano, but they did both have tousled brown hair and brown eyes. But Tobias's build wasn't quite fighter's, like Sano's.  
  
"Um. . .yeah. . . So, is Jake mad?" Tobias asked.  
  
"Well, the others are looking for you. Ax saw that dracon flash in the woods and alarmed the others that something was going on. They went to check it out, but I don't think they're mad." Sano explained.  
  
"Oh." Tobias said.  
  
"So, what are we gonna do about Saitou?" Yahiko queried.  
  
"Dunno. We're gonna have to bring that up at a meeting." Tobias said. "Well, I'm gonna demorph now and meet you guys back at the dojo. See ya." He began to demorph to his bird from. It was very bizarre, nearly horrifying, yet fascinating at the same time to see morphing and demorphing.  
  
He began to shrink, his legs becoming scaly. His eyes turned sharp, and feathers covered his flesh. Finally, he was finished, and flew up into the night sky. {I'll tell Jake and the others that I'm all right. You guys just get to the dojo without running into any trouble. Bye.} And with that, he flew off into the distance.  
  
~Jake~  
  
We returned to the dojo okay. We were notified by Tobias that he was okay.  
  
Unfortunately, we were also notified about our new problem: Saitou.  
  
Demorphing, I walked back into the dojo and sighed, collapsing. I was followed by the other Animorphs. Immediately, a bunch of arguing began.  
  
Finally, Ax, in human morph, turned to me. "Prince Jake. Prrrince- ccce Jaaake. What do you recommend? Re-co-mend. Reee-cooo-meeend?" He was in the corner, his brow furrowed as he fiddled with the blue box.  
  
I sighed. "Ax, don't call me prince. Second, don't sound out words."  
  
"Yesss, Princce-sorry."  
  
I felt tired. It had been a long night for everyone. I turned to Kenshin. "Kenshin, when is he going to be here?" I asked.  
  
"He did not give a certain time. But sessha believes that he will arrive around noon, de gozaru yo." Kenshin replied.  
  
"Alright. We'll have a meeting in the morning. Right now, I think everyone should get some sleep." I said.  
  
"Thank you." Marco said, lying back.  
  
"You do realize that you don't even have a futon, right? Follow me and I'll take you guys to a room." Kaoru said.  
  
I nodded. "Thanks. And sorry for dragging you guys into this mess-"  
  
"This? Oh, no trouble at all. We get our fair share of strange characters around here all the time." Kaoru said nonchalantly, dismissing it with the wave of her hand. She stood up and walked down the hall. Marco, Rachel, Cassie, and I stood up and followed. Ax walked outside to demorph and get some sleep himself.  
  
"Okay, you guys can stay in here," Kaoru said to Marco and I, opening one door, "and you two can stay in here." She said to the girls, opening the door on the other side of the hall. Marco walked into our room and looked around, blinking, then walked out.  
  
"There's no beds in there." He stated. Kaoru blinked.  
  
"Oh! Right! I'll be right back." She said, walking down the hall. "Yahiko, get some bed sets." She called.  
  
"But busu-" Yahiko started.  
  
"Don't even start, Yahiko."  
  
Yahiko and Kaoru came back with some mats, some blankets, and some small pillows. They handed them to us and walked off. "Goodnight." They said before leaving.  
  
I walked into the dark room with Marco. Marco unfolded his mat-or futon, it was called, and looked at it with distaste. "This is a bed? Man, these people really need to learn comfort. Oh well." He shrugged. "When in Rome, do what the Romans do. Night, Jake." He said, flopping down on his futon.  
  
"Night. . ." I said, settling down on my futon and closing my eyes. I thought I would never get to sleep that night, but weariness took over and eventually, I fell fast asleep.  
  
Author's Note-Okay! Question, cause I'm taking a vote on this: To tell the truth, or not to tell the truth. If the Animorphs tell Saitou the truth tomorrow, then he's gonna become an Animorph. If not, then Saitou is gonna get really suspicious and probably gonna find out sooner or later anyway. Well, that's all I'm asking for now. Now, please review! And going back to the regular schedule, I'll post the next chapter at the same time as usual. Ja ne! ^_^ 


	10. Really though, they're just trying to sh...

Author's Note-Hey, I'm back! Well, sorry that I didn't post a chapter yesterday, but I've been really busy studying for tests this week and stuff, so it's possible I could be a little slow this week. Second, I do not own Animorphs or Rurouni Kenshin. And third. . .there is no third. So just read and review. ^_^;  
  
~Rachel~  
  
I awoke late in the morning. My back-which was used to soft feather beds-ached slightly. I groaned. It was gonna take a lot of adjustment to get used to Meiji Tokyo.  
  
Yawning, I sat up and looked around. Cassie was gone. Next to the door, someone had set what I guessed was a change of clothes. I stood up and walked over to the bundle.  
  
Unfolding it, I found that I had been right. It was a long, white dress, and seemed like a robe. Underneath that was what looked like another robe, long and made of silk. It was a red color with yellow-gold leaves decorating the front. The bottom of the sleeves stretched down to nearly my knees. Underneath the red robe were two long strips of folded fabric, and a comb.  
  
As I put on the first dress, the white one, I looked down at the red one. I shrugged and put it on right over left, like a bathrobe. Then I stared down at the one of the pieces of fabric, which I had guessed to be a belt or a sash, uncomprehending. Picking it up, I searched for a buckle or. . .something. Finding none, I tied it around my waist like a bow and shifted it around to my back.  
  
The other sash lay on the floor. I wondered what it was for. A spare, maybe? I had absolutely no idea what to do with it. Never had I thought that I would have a problem with fashion. I pulled on the socks and wooden sandals and pulled the comb through my blond hair.  
  
I'd have to ask for some pants later. Oh well. At least I didn't have to wear a corset. I slid the door open and walked out, shutting it behind me. I walked down the hall and into the main room. Looked around. Huh. No one there. I opened the door and saw Kenshin and Cassie doing laundry.  
  
I walked over to them and stared. Cassie was wearing a dress. Never, in my life, did I ever think I'd see Cassie wearing a dress. It was like mine, only off-white and with a pine tree design on it.  
  
Cassie looked over at me from hanging up the wet clothes, smiling and sweatdropping. I raised an eyebrow at her, then turned to Kenshin, who hadn't even so much as glanced at me. "Well?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips.  
  
"Well what, de gozaru ka?" Kenshin asked, not looking up from the shirt he was scrubbing.  
  
"Well, how do I look?" I repeated impatiently. Kenshin's violet eyes flicked upward at me in a glance and returned to the sudsy water again.  
  
"Sessha hates to be the one to tell you this, but you're dressed like a badly dressed corpse, de gozaru yo. Gomen nasi, Rachel-dono." He said carefully, sounding sincerely apologetic.  
  
I twitched. That was probably the last thing I had expected to hear. ". . .What?"  
  
"Oh, Rachel! There you are!" Kaoru exclaimed, walking over to me. A woman that looked a bit older than her and had black hair was on her heels.  
  
"Is this the girl in question? She can't even put on a kimono right." Said the woman.  
  
"Well, they are foreigners, Megumi." Kaoru pointed out. She turned to me. "Don't worry, Rachel. Cassie was confused too."  
  
"Well. . .what did I do wrong?" I asked.  
  
Kaoru took one look at me, then bluntly said, "Pretty much everything."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"First of all, a kimono being worn right over left is how you dress a dead person." She told me. I blushed slightly with embarrassment. Oops. "Second of all, the obi is all wrong. Where are the other two pieces?" she asked.  
  
"Um. . .Obi? Pieces? You mean this?" I asked, plucking at what I had thought was a belt. Kaoru sighed.  
  
"Let's go inside and get that fixed." She said. To the others, she said, "We'll be right back." With that, we walked back to mine and Cassie's room.  
  
"Now, let's see. . ." she said, picking up the two pieces of fabric that I had left on the floor as I adjusted the white robe that I had later learned was a yukatas, and the kimono robe. "Okay, now for the obi. I'm going to do it in a cho cho bow, okay?"  
  
"O. . .kay. . ." I said slowly. She tied the first sash around my waist.  
  
"This is the Kashi-Himo sash. It always goes first." She tied another, smaller sash over it. "This is the Date-Jime belt. It goes on second." Then she took a small, braided cord that I hadn't noticed before. "And this is the Obi-Jime. This goes on third."  
  
She began to tie the entire obi into a complicated bow. "It's imported that you tie the obi right, or else your kimono will flap open." She explained as she tied.  
  
I smiled and sweatdropped. "Wow. I guess I have a lot to learn, huh?"  
  
"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll learn soon enough." Kaoru said. For the sake of my pride, I hoped she was right.  
  
~Marco~  
  
Jake, Sano, and I walked down the street. We had intended to have the meeting this morning, but we had an unexpected visitor, so now we could only hope that Saitou wouldn't come to the dojo until evening, or better yet, tomorrow. Perhaps, better still, never.  
  
"So, Sano," I asked, putting my hands behind my head lazily, "What do you guys do for fun around here? Play video games?"  
  
Sano glanced down at me. "We gamble and spar. And video what?"  
  
Jake fwapped me over the head. "Video games haven't been invented yet!"  
  
"I know, I know. I was just kiddin. Geez. Learn a lesson in humor, Jake." I whined.  
  
Jake rolled his eyes but smiled. Tokyo was packed, even now. Of course, we blended right in wearing our new hakamas and gis we had borrowed from the dojo. Of course, we didn't wear the hakamas until we were convinced that they weren't skirts. They weren't jeans, and tying them was a bit complicated, but they allowed free movement, which was good enough for me. Unfortunately, controllers were dressed to suit the time period as well.  
  
"Join the Sharing! We'll make you feel like you belong like family. We can give you and your children a good education; help you with financial problems, and even some political ones. Just come right here to sign up." Some controllers would yell along the street. People, sadly, crowded around them. Great. The Yeerks were gonna have a lot more controllers now. . .  
  
"Hey! Those are Yeer-" Sano started.  
  
"Shhh!" Jake shushed. He looked over at the advertisers to see if any of them were in hearing range. When he saw that they weren't, he explained, "The Sharing is their cover organization."  
  
"Yeah. Really though, they're just trying to shove a Yeerk up your ear." I added helpfully.  
  
Jake and Sano sweatdropped. "Yeah, I figured. But if they're oh-so- advanced, then why bother with this nice-nice cover crap?" Sanosuke asked.  
  
"They could bring only a limited army. Probably not many bug fighters. I'm sure that they could bet more if they needed to with the time matrix, if they have it to begin with, but. . .yeah. . .it probably wouldn't be easy." I explained.  
  
Jake nodded, then added, "Visser Three isn't stupid. He probably wants a full-blown invasion, but he can't risk Japan being thrown into chaos."  
  
"But. . .he should be aware of how vulnerable Japan is at the moment. The government is unstable, the economy sucks, and there's a sword ban, making most of the samurai that fought in the revolution and could fight in an army now weak and out of practice." Sano pointed out.  
  
I shrugged. "Maybe they're scared of /you/ guys." I said, half joking, half serious. "And us. You told us of Shishio and the guys you guys defeated. If they have to deal and risk with /that/, then a full-blown invasion maybe isn't the best idea."  
  
". . .Maybe. . ." Sano said doubtfully.  
  
". . .So anyway," I said, "getting completely and totally off the subject. . .what job do you think I should get?"  
  
"You mean what job you could get? Remember, one of your only strengths is video games." Jake joked. I shoved him playfully.  
  
Sano looked around. "A scribe, maybe."  
  
"I can't write in Japanese."  
  
"A clown?"  
  
". . .No. I can't afford to ruin my good looks with the make-up." I joked.  
  
"Helping clean up a shrine?"  
  
"You mean a Buddhist shrine? I'm not Buddhist." I said.  
  
"A carpenter?"  
  
"I can't carpentate." I said, making up a new word. Sano sweatdropped.  
  
"Then what /can/ you do?"  
  
"I can cook." I said.  
  
"Hm. . ." Sano said. "Follow me." We walked down the street and turned into a restaurant. "This is the Akabeco. It's a restaurant that we like to go to, and we're friends with some of the employees here." He then turned to a woman on the other side of the room. "Tae! Hey, Tae!" he called.  
  
A young woman with brown hair, a striped dress, and an apron walked over. She frowned when she saw who it was. "Oh, Sanosuke." She said.  
  
"Yeah, me. Hey, my friend needs a job and he can cook. That's about his only skill. His name is Marco. Can you let him work here?" Sano asked.  
  
Tae shot him a dirty look. "/You/ need a job, Sanosuke, so you can pay your bills." She said. She then looked over at me, then sighed and smiled. "Sure. We could always use the extra help. You'll get paid eight yen an hour, and can start today if you want." She said kindly.  
  
"Thanks." I said.  
  
"No problem. I'll get Tsubame to show you around as soon as I can." She said cheerfully.  
  
"Hey, waitress!" Someone at one of the tables called.  
  
"Coming!" Tae said, hurrying over to them.  
  
"Hey." Jake said as Tae left.  
  
"Hi." Sano replied.  
  
"Do you think they'll let someone my age work at the police station? I can use the work and I can find out more about this Saitou guy, not to mention having a good excuse for snooping around for Yeerk activity." Jake said.  
  
"I dunno, but you can try." Sano suggested.  
  
Jake nodded thoughtfully. "Alright." He said. He and Sano began to leave. "See ya later." He said. With that, they disappeared out the door.  
  
A girl wearing a waitress dress walked over to me. She had short, brown hair and looked around ten years old. "Hello. My name is Tsubame. You must be Marco. Let me show you around." She said.  
  
Tsubame showed me around and introduced me to the other employees. I got to work soon afterwards. It was only about an hour later when Tobias yelled, {Marco! Get over to the dojo! He's coming!}  
  
Author's Note- *blinkblink* Geez. . .I've run out of things to say. . . *a long silence stretches on for eternity* Anyway, please review! Feel free to make suggestions and ask questions. Now, I'm going to go to bed. . .I'm sleepy. . . Ja ne! 


	11. Basically, that's a no

Author's Note-Well, sorry that I haven't been posting lately. I've been having more tests and schoolwork than I thought. . . But anyways, this /is/ the next chapter and I'm hoping to have the next one up tomorrow or the day after. See ya then.  
  
~Cassie~  
  
I had wondered every now and then if I would enjoy a simpler life, free of electronics. With the assurance that the Chee had taken our place so that our parents wouldn't worry, with me hanging the wet clothes on the clothesline, breathing in the crisp, clean air of autumn, I think I got my answer.  
  
Rachel was sitting off to the side, watching Kenshin and I work. Her kimono had been fixed. I think I was as surprised as she was almost. I never thought I'd agree to wearing a dress, but now I see that miracles can happen.  
  
Megumi had left a little while ago, and Kaoru and Yahiko were cleaning the dojo. I looked over at Rachel. "You could help, you know. Everyone else is." I said, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"But you guys are almost done with the laundry. I have nothing left to do."  
  
"You can fold up the clothes when it dries, Rachel-dono, de gozaru yo. It shouldn't take too long." Kenshin said, looking up at the sky. It was a clear, deep blue with a few wispy clouds trailing across it. "It's a beautiful, clear day, but sessha predicts snow soon, de gozaru yo."  
  
"Well, snow isn't too bad." Rachel said as Kenshin looked back down at the laundry. Rachel and I noticed that he was scrubbing it a bit harder than he really needed too. Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong, Kenshin?"  
  
Kenshin smiled faintly. "No, sessha is fine, demo arigato anyways, Rachel-dono." He said, though the stress was evident on his face. I frowned. I knew that we shouldn't have gotten them involved. Suddenly Kenshin looked up and stopped scrubbing.  
  
"Hm?" I asked, blinking. "Kenshin, what is it?"  
  
Rachel followed his gaze to the left. I looked around the wet hakama that I had just hung up to see what they were looking at and saw the dojo gate. Rachel and Kenshin stood up, Kenshin drying his hands on his hakama.  
  
A man in a blue uniform with black hair walked in. He looked harmless enough.or at least as harmless as a seven foot-tall man /can/ look. Kenshin, Rachel, and I exchanged glances. This must have been Saitou. And we still hadn't reached a conclusion.  
  
"I'll handle this." Kenshin said quietly, stepping forward.  
  
Rachel glanced at me as Kenshin walked over to Saitou. "Be ready for trouble." She said quietly. I nodded. I prayed that the others were on their way back or that Tobias had seen and was getting Jake.  
  
"Hello, Saitou." Kenshin said cheerfully. We didn't expect you to come so early, do gozaru yo."  
  
"Spare the pleasantries, Himura." Saitou said. He looked over at us and gave us a contemptuous look. Kenshin followed his gaze to us.  
  
"Oh. These are some friends of ours, Rachel-dono and Cassie-dono. They are from America, de gozaru yo." Kenshin explained. Then he added, "They are our guests." I noticed the small threat made in that statement, and wondered if Saitou did as well.  
  
"I see." Saitou said. He looked down at Kenshin. I sweatdropped. Kenshin and I were only slightly above his elbow, and even Rachel scarcely reached his shoulders. We must have looked like little kids compared to him. "Now, what was going on last night? Answer truthfully, Himura. I know that groups of people walking around in the street in the middle of the night yelling things about morphing and 'Andalite Bandits' are not normal. Maybe for a bunch of drunks, but for them to be spread throughout the city all yelling the same thing? I think not."  
  
"There's nothing to answer because nothing unusual had happened. And even if it did, sessha does not know why you would blame it on a mere rurouni such as himself, de gozaru yo." Kenshin said innocently.  
  
". . ." Saitou continued to stare down at him. Kenshin's smile faded and his eyes grew serious as he looked up at him. "I will find out, one way or another. You best just tell me now, without the trouble." Saitou said.  
  
There was a long silence. Then Rachel started towards them. "Look," she said, "can Kenshin, Cassie, and I speak alone for a moment at least?"  
  
"So that the three of you could come up with a good lie? I think not." Saitou shot back. "Baka onna."  
  
Rachel glared darkly at him. "Listen, you-" She was cut off when Kenshin reached up and placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Rachel looked down at him, then sighed in frustration.  
  
"Saitou, this is practically-" Kenshin was interrupted as Marco, Jake, and Sano came barreling in. Jake was wearing the same kind of uniform as Saitou.  
  
"Guys, guys, the decision has been made. Sorry that we couldn't take a vote, but we never did get the chance to." Jake said. He turned to Saitou. "We'll tell you."  
  
~Ax~  
  
{Ax! Saitou's coming, and so are the other Animorphs. Meet us at the dojo as human.} Tobias said, flying above me.  
  
{I'll be there as soon as I can, Tobias.} I replied back as I ran to the edge of the forest and began morphing human. When the morph was complete, I rushed into the dojo, only moments behind Prince Jake, Marco, and Sanosuke and stumbling on my clumsy human legs with the backpack on my back.  
  
"Guys, Guys. The decision has been made. Sorry that we couldn't take a vote, but we never got the chance to." Prince Jake said. He turned to a tall, black-haired man that I recognized to be Hajime Saitou. "We'll tell you."  
  
"Are you sure that this is a good idea, Jake?" Kenshin asked, turning to Prince Jake.  
  
Prince Jake nodded. "Yeah. But considering that you know this guy, hopefully you know that." He said. Kenshin nodded. Prince Jake then said to Saitou, "Now, let me ask you: are you willing to risk your life for the sake of this planet?"  
  
"I risked my life for the sake of Japan; I think I'd be willing to risk my life for the sake of this planet." Saitou said, a bit of sarcasm in his voice.  
  
Prince Jake nodded. "Okay then. Now that we've got that cleared up, you might want to sit down. If you want the full story, it's gonna take awhile."  
  
"I'm fine." Saitou stated.  
  
Prince Jake blinked, then shrugged, then leaned against a tree.  
Marco blinked, then shrugged as well, then fell back and lay there, staring up at the sky. Prince Jake explained for about an hour, and by the time he was finished, the only people not sitting down was him and Saitou. Tobias was perched on the gate. Yahiko and Kaoru had come out of the dojo and was now sitting beside Kenshin, and I was sitting under the tree, trying to put the Escafil device together with strong but clumsy human hands. Saitou's expression only showed contempt and disbelief.  
  
"I'm surprised you couldn't come up with a better lie. Perhaps if you made some wild story about a swordsman from the revolution; but people not only from the future but from a different planet? I think not." He said.  
  
Prince Jake sighed as Rachel jumped up and glared at Saitou. "Who's lying?! You're just too much of a realist to believe something out of the ordinary!" she exclaimed.  
  
"." Saitou glanced over at Rachel, then looked over at Kenshin. "However, I do believe that these kids were found out in the woods. That's really about all. Don't tell me that you actually believe them, Himura."  
  
Kenshin looked back at him with serious eyes. "Sessha does. Sessha has seen it himself."  
  
Saitou raised an eyebrow. The message was clear: If anyone would joke about such a thing, Kenshin would be the last one to do it. Kenshin's answer seemed to be conformation enough.  
  
Prince Jake looked over at me. "Hey, Ax. How long have you been in morph?"  
  
"One hour and twenty-one of your minutes." I replied. Then, unable to resist, "Minutes. Miiinutes. Sss." Prince Jake sighed.  
  
"Ax. They're everybody's minutes. You're on earth too, Space-boy." Marco said  
  
"That has occurred to me." I said, standing up and putting the Escafil device back in the backpack. It was almost ready. If I continued to work on it until nightfall, then it should be complete. I set the backpack next to me and turned to Prince Jake. "Should I demorph now, Prince Jake?" I asked.  
  
Prince Jake looked up at Saitou, then back at me, and nodded. "Yeah. Good idea. Do it here, now." He said.  
  
I blinked, then nodded and began to demorph. Saitou's eyebrows shot up, but that was the most surprise he allowed to on his face. Fur covered my body, first colorless and clear, then slowly began to turn blue, as if someone was pouring blue dye on me.  
  
My eyes turned green and my lips sealed shut, growing together, and eventually disappeared. My ears became pointed, and my nose flattened out into slits. My bulk began to expand out until two hoofed legs grew out the end. And it didn't stop there. As my toed-human feet and legs began to change into hoofed Andalite legs, and my hands grew weak and two extra fingers, my tail began to finally grow, and eventually the blade as well. Stalk eyes began to grow, and I was able to turn them and watch my tail bade sharpen.  
  
Kaoru looked horrified; like she was about to start screaming. I didn't blame her. It was her first time watching anybody morph or demorph, and neither was like a human cartoon where a person would merely transform instantly and neatly in a poof of smoke. Kenshin, Sanosuke, and Yahiko looked a little freaked out, and Saitou was trying his best to not look too surprised, though I did detect the looks of both surprise and disgust on his face.  
  
"Saitou, this is Ax." Prince Jake said.  
  
"Our resident Andalite." Marco added helpfully.  
  
"Does it.hurt?" Kaoru asked in a near whisper, still horrified. Rachel looked over at her.  
  
"Hm?" she asked.  
  
"Morphing. Does it hurt? Because that looked painful." Kaoru asked again, a bit louder.  
  
{Ah, no. Considering that it was merely a problem of pain when the internal organs shift around and go into Zero Space, it was a simple task for my people to create a solution. You see, when you touch the Escafil device, a chemical passes through the pores or the hairs on the hand called Nicontrosobonateclaotron. It spreads through the blood stream and attaches it to all of the organs and the DNA inside you. It will begin the growth of a gland called-}  
  
"Basically, that's a no." Marco said, before I could launch into a scientific explanation. I sighed.  
  
Author's Note-Well, like I said, hopefully I'll have the next chapter out in at least tomorrow or the day after. Too busyish. But anyways, please review! Ja ne! 


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